Leonardo DiCaprio Uses His Instagram to Praise Israeli Project

Hollywood megastar Leonardo DiCaprio posted his 13.8 million followers a photo and explanation of the world’s tallest solar tower in the Negev desert.

Leonardo DiCaprio

Hollywood megastar Leonardo DiCaprio used his Instagram account to spotlight an Israeli renewable energy project. He posted his 13.8 million followers a photo and explanation of Megalim Solar Power‘s Ashalim power station.

The Ashalim project will comprise more than 6,000 heliostats (mirrors) out of 50,000 have been assembled and installed onsite. It will feed solar heat into the world’s tallest solar tower that will soar 820 feet high (250 meter) in the Negev desert. To date, More than 1,000 construction workers on site. More than 22,000 pylons have been installed in the solar field.

Leonardo DiCaprio wrote on his post “The arid landscape of Israel’s Negev Desert will look like a futuristic movie in the near future. The country is building the tallest solar thermal tower in the world above its dusty sands.”

“The tower should be able to produce enough power for about 5% of Israel’s population when it’s concluded,” Leonardo DiCaprio noted. “The sunlight will be reflected by the mirrors to a boiler at the top of the tower. The boiler will then be able to convert them and heat water to steam to turn the turbine in a conventional power plant.”

The tower is just one of three power plots in Ashalim project, currently being deployed at the 121 megawatt. Each plot using a different form of solar technology. The second plot includes two solar thermal projects, and will use technology that stores solar energy for use when the sun is not visible. The third plot will have traditional photovoltaic solar panels.

In total, these facilities at Ashalim are expected to produce nearly 300 MW of power, about two percent of Israel’s electricity production capacity, which would be enough for 130,000 households—around five percent of Israel’s population.

About a dozen solar tower fields exist in the world, including three towers in California.